-ayay

An Action That Was in Progress

Level 3

Past progressive expresses what someone was doing. Its stem depends on the verb class.

How It Works

SubjectWas/were singing
I/heheesayay
You singular/sheheesaysay
Weheesaynay
You pluralheesayseen
Theyheesayeen

These are paradigm fragments. Agreement t becomes s after progressive -ay-. Classes two and three use n-bearing stems, as in karinayay and booqanayay.

Compare Shalay Cali wuu heesayay, “Yesterday Ali was singing,” with Shalay Cali wuu heesay, “Yesterday Ali sang.” Cali wuu heesi jiray habeen kasta, “Ali used to sing every night,” describes a former repeated practice.

The progressive alone establishes neither later completion nor interruption. Leeyahay and yaallaa lack progressive paradigms, and other state predicates rarely use them. English “was” alone therefore cannot determine the Somali construction.

Examples (3)

  1. Shalay Cali wuu heesayay.

    Yesterday Ali was singing.

    Past ongoing action.

  2. Maryan waxay karinaysay bariis.

    Maryan was cooking rice.

    Class-two feminine agreement.

  3. Waxaan booqanaynay adeerkayaga.

    We were visiting our uncle.

    Class-three first-person plural agreement.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-ayayLevel 3An Action That Was in Progress

Learn This First

Compare ongoing present actions and ordinary past reference before forming past-progressive clauses.